As I Leave
by Death101- Fox Version
Summary: ONESHOT! Packing up her house, Tsukino stops to recall a time when her husband was still at her side. Little does she know her little girl has met someone at the gates to their home. A strangly familar stranger. Takes place after What I Can Be. Cover created by Shea279


_Disclaimer: I am not the creator of Yu Yu Hakusho, Level E, HunterXHunter, or anything else he made._

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><p><em>Recap:<em> A year has passed since the Amaterasu and Yasu the raccoon demons were defeated. Tsukino is able to remain in Human World and the gang have found a temporary

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><p><strong>As I Leave<strong>

"Tsukino, hurry up! The movers will be here in three hours!"

The young woman turned to the sound of the voice coming from the hall. Her sad smile and brown eyes were framed by long black hair. "I've almost got this room packed, Kuronue," she shouted back.

"If you don't hurry up, I'll send Sakura to help you," he threatened.

Tsukino gasped in mock horror. "Then we'll never move out!"

A tall man appeared in the doorway to the room. The light from the lamp beside her made shadows dance over his face. His maroon hair slowly fell into his golden eyes and around his black cat ears as he looked at her. "I think that's what you are planning anyways. I'll never understand what you like about this town." He added the last part as an afterthought and gave her a smile.

Tsukino just shook her head. "It's just the memories, Hideki," she replied as she picked up some photos as she put them in the box.

The man shrugged. He looked at the picture in Tsukino's hands in distaste. It was of Tsukino and man with long vivid red hair and brilliant green eyes smiling at the camera; the man's arm wrapped around her. Hideki scowled. "Those times are over. You have to accept that and move on." He then kissed Tsukino's cheek and then walked out of the room. "Remember, one hour before we leave until we leave for the temple."

Tsukino nodded numbly.

The kiss was cold, just like he had once been when they first met up again. And unfeeling, like he had been when he tried to protect her from a distance.

Memories surfaced and she forced the tears back as she continued to put away the pictures. They had been so close, she mused.

After they had successful captured the Fox's Rose, also known as Amaterasu a stalker from Kurama's past, Tsukino and Kurama had returned with a little extra baggage. Kuronue had been unwilling to let his little sister leave for Human World without him. It had taken a year for Kuronue to truly fit in, she remembered with a smile before it turned into a frown. Shaking her head, she scolded herself. She needed to finish packing the pictures. There wasn't enough time for a trip down memory lane. Moving quickly she packed the photos into the box and reached for another one. Her hands felt the soft texture of art paper and looked at the sketch that was in her hands. It had been rough, done quickly before the subjects could awake and catch the artist in the act.

Despite herself, Tsukino found herself falling onto memory lane as she remembered the feeling of being held by him. Even without the usual paints, Botan, the artist, had managed to capture the moment perfectly. The calm and tranquil expressions on the subjects' faces appeared 3D. As Tsukino looked at the picture, she could almost feel his arms wrap around her again. For a moment, she almost heard his voice again and felt his energy like a whisper in the forest.

How long ago was that? A month or two after the latest batch of trouble was finished and maybe three months before his disappeared for good, she thought.

Almost a year after capturing Amaterasu and taking some pills that would allow Kurama to remain in his fox demon form, an unusual side effect occurred. One morning, Kurama had awoken from his sleep to find red fox ears and a red tail on his person. After going to Koema, he was assured that the effects would soon wear off. Little did Kurama know that Koenma had secretly given the man a spirit egg which would feed off his energy and cure him. For the next few months she and Kurama were the same. No matter how badly he wanted to, he could not use his spirit energy to hide his ears and during the mission with Amaterasu, Tsukino had lost the ability to use her demon energy. If they wanted to hide their demon features, they would have to do it the old fashion way. Oddly through this troublesome time, they had gotten closer. Close enough that she stopped wondering if he was just using her for the moment. But then he came.

She shuddered at the memory of running into her father again. The bat demon apparently decided it would be amusing to mess with his daughter's head before he ate her for energy. He joined together with the humans Oshiro and Stato who had once threatened to sell Tsukino on the black market. Together they dragged her to the depths of despair. Thankfully her friends including the girls had managed to pull her back out of the hole while the boys took care of her father. Unfortunately, her father proved too powerful for the boys and was ready to deal the final blow. It was in that moment that Kurama's spirit egg hatched.

A large creature appeared in a burst of light. One second the beast was facing her father. The next her father was gone and the beast was chewing something in its mouth. Hunger apparently not defeated, the beast turned to the unconscious Kurama. Without thinking, Tsukino ordered the beast to sit. The beast stared at her for a moment before in another burst of light, the creature shrunk into the form of a small blue catlike creature. The boys recovered conscious and for once Kurama was on the receiving end of a joke. It was after that battle and she and Kurama were married.

Tsukino shook head away to remove herself from the memory. 'Those times are over. I have to move on and forget him. I have a family now,' she told herself. With a sigh, she put the sketch away and promised herself that she wasn't going to get off-track again.

Her promise was broken almost instantly when she lifted another picture of her and the red-haired man into her vision. In that one she was kissing him. Despite Tsukino's best efforts, she found herself falling back into the memories. A tear ran down her cheek as she looked at it.

As she stroked the photo, she asked her question again, knowing that she wasn't going to get an answer. 'Why did you leave Kurama?'

Finally she tore her eyes away from it and sat it down on the stack. It seemed so long ago that they might have had a chance. That they might have been able to be together and raise their family. But then the Demon World Tournament came around and he lost his life in a battle that should have ended with him the victor. She had tried to use the wish Spirit World owed her due to a mistake they had made but Koenma said he was unable to grant it. Instead he promised that her children would be protected and one day another man could come to help her.

She had refused the promise of a new man but she had to admit she was grateful for help. If it hadn't been for Kuronue and Hideki, her little family probably would have collapsed. As it was, they were now moving closer to Grandma Genkai's since it was no longer safe in Sarayashiki and she could no longer afford the huge house.

Slowly she realized that she now held a photo album in her hands. The light blue cover with googly eyes watched her as she tried to resist the temptation to open it and fall into memories of when her children were smaller and when their sorta biological grandmother was able to come visit. She opened the cover and smiled down at the three small babies in the first picture. Squished together into a small ball, only one of the children was actually asleep with his small black tail wrapped around him as his black animal ears twitched under a mop of brown hair. Beside him his younger brother with red ears and a red tail with a white tip was focused on his older sister's white tail. His blue eyes that would soon turn green were narrowed as he slowly reached out for the white fluff. The only one actually looking at the camera was the little girl with eyes that would turn brown and white ears that were flat against her head.

On the next page were more pictures of the small children as they struggled through the first few weeks of life. Then ten pages in was the first pictures of the children without tails or animal ears. A smile came to Tsukino's face when she remembered the children rushing into the room screaming that their ears and tails were gone. It took ten minutes to assure them that their animal parts would return after Kuronue came in and said that their noses would fall off next. They were only two at that time and already showing so much talent. Their father would have been proud.

She was about to turn the page when a piercing scream came from the yard followed by running feet. Sighing, Tsukino put the album into a box and looked towards the door. Seconds later, two children rushed into the room. The smaller of the two, who seemed to be covered in jam, pointed at her taller brother and shouted, "Mommy! Mommy! I was trying to keep clean but Shuichi did it again!"

Shuichi shook his head so hard that his red hair flew around his face while his fox like tail swished side to side. "This time it was all Sakura's fault! I swear! I was just putting the jam back when she ran into me and it slipped from my fingers."

Sakura turned and her white ears were barely visible through her wavy black hair. "You dropped it on purpose."

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

Tsukino shook her head as she wondered if it would just be easier to stay put in the same house instead of moving. After her husband died she hadn't had the heart to move from the house that he had bought after he returned from tracking down a raccoon called Amaterasu. It had been a pricey fixer-upper, but with some help Kurama had made it liveable. Even after seven years of hyper mixed-demon children running around, his garden still looked the same as when he had left it. However, with the recent human gang violence in the neighbour two blocks down and the new drug house on the far corner, staying was no longer safe. Also the heating bills and water bills were killing her financially. 'Luckily, Genkai always has room for family,' Tsukino thought as she watched her two young children fight.

Finally, Sakura became so annoyed that she lunged at her little brother. Tsukino didn't even bother to move as her youngest dodged to the side and jumped behind some boxes that she still had to mark. When he reached up to his hair and pulled out a small daisy, Tsukino moved. Grabbing both children by their tails she pulled them towards her.

Focusing on her middle child, Tsukino calmly said, "Sakura Youko Minamino, you know better than to run without looking so don't blame your brother when you get covered in jam." Noticing the small smirk on her son's face she turned and gave his tail a small tug causing him to wince. "Shuichi Itsuki Minamino, you were supposed to be helping your uncle move things to the front yard. Not make a sandwich."

The little boy's eyes widened. "But mom the boxes were heavy and I was hungry." A smile came to his face. "And you always say that I need to learn how to fend for myself with it comes to food."

Tsukino shook her head and sighed. "I also say not to use your powers in the house but since the boxes were too much for you, I'll go help your uncle while you both finish up the boxes here."

Both children opened their mouths to protest working together but Tsukino shook her head as she started to walk towards the door. "I also say that you two need to work together and it's either that or else helping Hideki."

With their tails lying limp, both children turned towards the boxes and started to label them. Tsukino watched for a moment before grabbing one of the many boxes in the hallway and carrying it to the door where her half-brother Kuronue kindly opened the door for her. With a twinkle in his purple eyes, he nodded towards the back rooms of the house. "Two and three?"

Tsukino shook her head as she sat the box down on the lawn. "Yes." She stretched, enjoying the last hour of darkness before the sun would rise. "I really need to think of some way to keep Shuichi from bugging everyone so much."

Kuronue shrugged as he followed Tsukino back into the house to grab more boxes. "It's just part of growing up and look on the bright side." He paused as he lifted four boxes filled with books with little effort. "At least he can defend himself."

Tsukino shrug as she lifted a box filled with kitten ware with some effort. "Still though, are all children like this? Because Rei, Chiko, Hana, and Katsuo seem to be angels."

"You have to remember who their parents are. Rei and Chiko have Keiko as a mother so they really can't get away with much and Yusuke is learning not to give in to them. And Hana and Katsuo have Kuwabara and Yukina as parents. Did you expect little evil fire demons like Hiei?"

As she struggled to open the door with one free hand, Tsukino shook her head. "No, but are you saying that just because the children had Kurama as a father they are going to be trouble?"

"Well, Kurama was a real pain as a kid apparently and there is the fact that I've been helping raise them."

Tsukino nodded as she set the box down. "So I have you to blame for Sakura's sudden need to take anything shiny and hide it in her room."

Kuronue frowned as he blew a strand of black hair out of his face. "Well I might have told her a few things, but Kurama would have told her eventually too." He stopped talking as Tsukino winced. "Sorry sis. I guess I just forgot that you were looking after the photos."

She smiled as she opened the door again. "It's okay. I mean, it's not like he can come back, and if he could, he would have told us." For a moment, she stood looking over his shoulder towards the road before she turned back into the house. "The movers will be here soon so we'd better just concentrate on labelling everything."

Before he could nod, she had already disappeared into the house. To her right the living room opened up. The cream covered walls seemed naked without the pictures so lovingly painted by one of Tsukino's and Kurama's good friends. The loveseat and couch set were already on the lawn along with the simple coffee table and many book shelves. A little farther back and to the right was the kitchen and dining room whose cabinets' doors were hanging open, showing just how bare and empty they were. Over to the right was the children's rooms along with a guest room that Kuronue had been using ever since the children had been born and he was kicked out of his old room. And finally to the left was the study where Sakura and Shuichi were quietly working and the room that Tsukino should have been sharing with her husband, but for the past seven years she had been alone.

As she pushed open the door and turned on the light, she took in the deep earthy colours for the last time. When her family was able to afford a new house, she refused to use the same colours. That would only be inviting more pain. Perhaps a nice blue or purple would match her better. Or a cream. For a moment she pictured the room with new colours. Instead of helping the ache, it made it worse. Turning away from the empty walls she kneeled down and started knocking on the floor boards. Lately, Sakura had been hiding things in rooms other than her own and for all she knew, her late husband might have hidden something in the room before he passed.

Minutes passed before she was satisfied that the floor boards were solid and not hiding anything. With nothing left to do, she started to make her way towards the study where her two children were oddly quiet. She was just pushing the door open when Shuichi appeared at her leg. His green eyes wide in terror.

"Mom! There's someone weird at the gate and Sakura is talking to them!"

Her son's fear became her own at the thought of what someone 'weird' would be doing talking to her daughter. Shuichi knew that he wasn't human or even like humans so he would call demons by their race and say that 'there is a wolf demon' or 'that's a fire demon' instead of saying someone weird if he came across one. And if an unknown human came to the door, he would say just that. 'A human just came up the drive' or 'A human is staring at me!' Her little boy's definition of weird was anything that shouldn't be or couldn't be. That meant either a drug addict was at her gate or a possessed person was. In any case, that meant only one thing. Bad news.

Patting her son's head in passing, she rushed towards the door, prepared for the worse. The gate would be handing open, moving in the slight breeze, and her small daughter gone or badly hurt with the stranger nowhere in sight. Instead she found the opposite. Her daughter was nowhere to be seen but the stranger still stood, leaning against the small gate. His hat cast shadows over his face in the nearing dawn light and the coat was loose enough to hide any form of gun. He looked up when she walked onto the porch and glared at him. She could barely make out the eyes under the hat but could not tell what colour they were.

Thinking that her daughter might have ducked around the corner of the house to hide like she was trained to do, Tsukino jumped off the porch and looked down the side of the house. Nothing. She walked across the front of the house to look for her little girl on the other side. Nothing but shadows.

"Looking for something?" the stranger asked.

Although the sun was starting to peek over the horizon and normal humans would be able to see, Tsukino allowed her human form to fade. Within seconds, the dim light revealed large red bat wings on her back, black cat ears on her head, and a black tail. Her tail slashed from side to side as she glared at the stranger. "Where is my daughter!"

The man didn't even flinch or pause in his answer. "I believe she went in the back door to find the man of the house."

"For you?"

The hat moved forward as the man nodded. "Yes. I was hoping to avoid meeting you until later or all together."

"Why?"

The man was silent and Tsukino moved closer. "I don't recall having met you so why would you want to avoid me?"

Under his hat, the man watched as Tsukino came closer. When she was at the gate and glaring at him, he sighed and reached to his hat. "You do know me," he said. "Although if you were lucky you have forgotten about me." He removed the hat, and Tsukino took a step away from the gate. Even in the dim light of the slowly rising sun she could make out the green of his eyes and the shape of his long red hair. Half-heartedly he reached out towards her. "Tsukino."

"Who's there?"

At the harsh hiss, Kurama pulled his hand back and looked towards the porch. "Just a friend passing through," he replied.

Hideki slowly walked towards the gate. "Then keep walking, demon."

Kurama narrowed his eyes. "If it is alright with this lady, I would like to wait. The little girl went in to find my friend for me and I would like to talk to him."

With another glare, Hideki moved himself between Kurama and Tsukino. "He's busy so you might as well leave and come back."

Kurama shook his head. "I'm afraid that is not possible as once you move, I will not be able to find him."

"I believe that was the point. So I'll tell you again. Keep walking."

A moment passed. Kurama reached into his pocket. From it he pulled out a small business card. "If you agree to give this to Kuronue, I will leave." He held the small card to Hideki and he took it.

"Agreed."

With a small nod, Kurama slipped his hat on and looked towards Tsukino. "I'm glad that you were able to find someone strong." Without another word, he started down the street. He only took four steps before Tsukino called out his name. He paused, turned, and felt her arms wrap around his waist.

"You idiot," she said as she hugged him. "Sakura is our daughter."

Before he could ask her what was going on. Kuronue appeared at the door of the house with two children. The first child was the little girl who he had given his spirit beast to show to Kuronue so that he could meet him and she was grinning from ear to ear. The second appeared to be a copy of himself with fox ears and tails who seemed as confused as he felt. Finally, Kuronue had developed a grin that matched the girl's. "Just couldn't stay dead could you?" he asked.

Kurama did not answer because the cat demon with maroon hair had made his way towards them. As he walked, the cat changed and shrunk until he was facing a small boy, only seven years old. With a deadly glare, the boy pointed at Kurama and said, "Just because you are my father doesn't mean I won't kill you if you ever make my mom sad again. So you'd better not."

Aware of Tsukino smiling at him, Kurama found himself smiling as well as he said, "I promise."

Finally, after six years of courting and seven years of parting, their family was together again.

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><p><strong>An: The final story in the Saving Me series. I know I said there would be more but I don't have the patience to deal with Tsukino and my version of Kurama for another story. And I couldn't even think of a new original oneshot to explain everything so you got Moving from Memory Lane Redone. Sorry. I hoped you at least slightly enjoyed the series and enjoyed this oneshot. Although from the looks of things most of you have stopped reading. Oh well. To those who care there is a oneshot that takes place after this one called Before and Now ID # 6845316.  
>See you around.<br>**-**D101**


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